Extracted from The Mississippi Magazine (Jackson, MS)
McCarty-Welcher
Ashley Steele McCarty and Brian Edward Welcher were united in marriage on June 23, 2001, in an afternoon ceremony at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lee McCarty, Jr. of Jackson. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Joseph Lee McCarty, Sr. and the late Mr. McCarty of Ellisville and the late Mr. and Mrs. William Edward Howard, Jr. of Laurel. Parents of the groom are Mr. and Mrs. Fred Andrew Welcher of Charlotte, North Carolina. The groom is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. William Edward Welcher of Kingwood, Texas, and Mrs. Erma McGinnis of Charleston, West Virginia.
The Reverend Carl Kalberkamp officiated the double-ring ceremony. Nuptial music was provided by Ms. Susie Cook, organist, and Mrs. Lemuel Owen Smith III, pianist.
The bride was escorted to the altar by her father, who gave her in marriage. The bride chose a floor-length reembroidered Alencon lace gown with an empire strapless silk satin bodice, appliqued with Alencon lace and closed in the back with covered buttons. She wore her mother's cathedral-length veil of French silk illusion and carried a hand-tied bouquet of Virginia roses, bridal white roses, and Porcelana roses.
Maids of honor were Elizabeth Brooke McCarty and Marion Harriet McCarty, sisters of the bride. Bridesmaids were Allison Rae Welcher, sister of the groom; Sara Leigh Watson and Katherine Anne Watson, cousins of the bride; and Amanda Nicole Rowland. They wore dresses of Mediterranean blue matte taffeta with strapless bodices and small taffeta belts caught in the back with ivory roses. The bridesmaids carried nosegays of assorted roses.
Honorary bridesmaids were Elizabeth Lucinda Fox, Rebecca Rose Cortez, Teri Leighann Carter, and Candace Carter Galbreath.
Flower girls were Caroline Mayfield Pyburn and Courtenay Harrison Pyburn. They wore dresses of ivory and Mediterranean blue silk and carried kissing balls of Porcelana roses.
Fred Andrew Welcher, father of the groom, served as best man. Groomsmen were Colby Burke Jubenville, Ernest Calvin Seymour III, Patrick Kirby Kelly, Thomas Roger DuMontier, Jr., and Edward Hunter Watson, cousin of the bride.
The bride's parents hosted a reception at the Colonial Country Club Colonial Country Club is a private golf club in Fort Worth, Texas (USA). It is host to an annual PGA Tour event. It is the longest running PGA Tour event to be held at the same site. . The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra String Trio provided music.
On the eve of the wedding the groom's parents honored the couple with a rehearsal dinner at the University Club.
Following a honeymoon to San Francisco, Carmel, and the Sonoma Valley the couple resides in Jackson.
Tuesday, January 1, 2002